Dr. Nina Harawa co-directs the Policy Impact Core at CHIPTS. She is an Associate Professor-in-Residence with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a Professor with Charles R. Drew University (CDU) of Medicine and Science, where she leads CDU’s HIV Cluster. She also co-directs the National Coordinating Center for the NIA-funded Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) at UCLA.
Trained in epidemiology, Dr. Harawa’s research involves understanding trends in HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and developing effective, culturally relevant interventions for prevention, care, and treatment. She has conducted innovative research with a wide variety of populations including those marginalized due to their status as racial and/or sexual and gender minorities. Much of this work has involved partnering with local governmental and community organizations in order to address health issues in populations that experience major health disparities. She currently co-leads two multi-site research studies funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse. One examines the impacts of incarceration and related interventions and policies on HIV in Black men who have sex with men (MSM). The other will test an intervention to promote linkage to and retention in HIV care for young MSM following release from jail.
Most recently, Dr. Harawa was awarded a competitive One Step Ahead award from the California HIV/AIDS Research Program for her innovative proposal to test a new intervention to engage at-risk MSM and transgender women in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), HIV/STI/Hepatitis C testing, and social services following release from jail. Their Mobile Enhanced Prevention Support (MEPS) intervention for people leaving jail combines a new mobile app with incentives and peer navigation to encourage prevention during and following reentry.
She enjoys jazz, visual arts, poetry, and yoga. Thanks to her husband, who is the Editor of The Ring magazine, she knows more about boxing than you would ever expect of an epidemiologist.
Each month, we’re featuring a member of our CHIPTS family and their work! To see past spotlights, check them out on the spotlights page and make sure to check back to see who we feature next!